Pendery

Gov. Matt Mead says he opposes a federal proposal to reduce the amount of public land in Wyoming available for possible oil shale development.

Last week, Mead sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management to disagree with their plan that would exclude oil shale development in places with wilderness characteristics and in areas of critical environmental concern.

Oil shale development involves extracting a petroleum-substance called kerogen that can be cooked and potentially turned into a liquid fuel. The process is known to use a lot of water.